Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shubhendu Adhikari's resignation from Mamata Banerjee's cabinet has triggered speculations that he may join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Adhikari is reportedly unhappy with the party top brass.
According to reports, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also asked her men not to give too much attention to him. However, senior TMC leader Saugata Roy said that Adhikari is still a member of the party.
State BJP leaders said that they are in touch with the TMC strongman and he will be welcomed in the party soon.
Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh said, "Suvendhu ji was upset with Mamata Banerjee's arrogance and corruption. If he joins BJP, we will welcome him. There are many TMC leaders who are in touch with us."
Surrounded by controversies
Shubhendu Adhikari has also been in the thick of controversies. He was accused of providing arms to the people of the committee over the bloody struggle during the Nandigram movement, though he has dismissed these allegations. His name also cropped up in the multi-crore Saradha scam. In 2014, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also questioned Adhikari regarding his alleged role in Saradha Group’s financial scam. In fact, a former employee of the company had alleged that Saradha chief Sudipto Sen had met Adhikari before fleeing to Kashmir. However, Adhikari has denied these allegations.
Adhikari, the 49-year-old MLA from Nandigram, has already returned his ‘Z Plus’ security with the resignation from the ministerial post. He has also handed over the government accommodation.
READ: What does Suvendhu Adhikari's exit mean for TMC?
Political career
Shubhendu Adhikari, a graduate of Kanthi PK College, entered politics during his student life. He was elected as a representative of the Student Council in 1989. After this, he was elected as an MLA from Kanthi Dakshin seat for the first time at the age of 36 in 2006. The same year, he also became the chairman of the Municipality of Kanthi.
During active politics, Shubhendu was elected as an MP from Tumluk Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014. In 2016, he won the Nandigram assembly seat, after which he was made a minister in the state government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Shubhendu played a key role during the 2007 Nandigram movement in East Midnapore, which elevated his political profile and. He was considered as the chief architect of the Nandigram movement, which was led by TMC chief and currently West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He had launched a movement against the land acquisition against an Indonesian chemical company under the banner of ‘Bhoomi Uchched Pratirodh Committee.’
The agitators had a bloody clash with the police and the CPM cadres. After the death of several people in the police firing on the protesters, the movement became fiercer, forcing the then Left Front government to bow down and scrap the project.
Helped in strengthening TMC
The agitation against the land acquisition in Nandigram and Singur in Hooghly district further strengthened the TMC’s hold in West Bengal and succeeded in removing the Left Front from power, which had been ruling the State for 34 years.
Shubhendu Adhikari, who was Minister for Transport, Water Resources and Development and Irrigation and Waterways Department in Banerjee's cabinet, belongs to an influential political family in East Midnapore district.
Shubhendu’s father Shishir Adhikari had been elected as an MLA from the Kanthi Dakshin seat on the Congress ticket in 1982. He was one of the founding members of the Trinamool Congress. Shishir Adhikari, who was the Minister of State for Rural Development in former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led UPA government, is currently an MP from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat and is also the District President of Trinamool Congress in East Midnapore. Shubhendu’s brother Divyendu Adhikari is the MP from the Kanthi Lok Sabha seat, while Soumendu is the president of the Kanthi municipality.
READ: BJP MP invites disgruntled WB minister to join his party
Influential family
The Adhikari family has a strong influence in East Midnapore, which has 16 assembly seats, as well as about five dozen assembly seats in neighboring West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts. It is said that in view of Shubhendu’s strategic skills, which he exhibited during the Nandigram movement, Mamata Banerjee had given him the task of expanding the base of TMC in Junglemahal consisting of districts of Midnapur, Bankura, Purulia and other areas. Shubhendu strengthened the hold of the party in these districts, which was considered as the Left Front stronghold.
Apart from all this, Adhikari also worked hard to ensure that the Trinamool Congress has an edge in Murshidabad and Malda divisions. The Trinamool Congress under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee also performed brilliantly in 2016 after 2011, thanks to her better hold over the organization.
However, TMC could not perform well in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP gave a tough fight to the Trinamool Congress by winning 18 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the State. While losing 12 seats, the Trinamool Congress could win only 22 seats. In this election, the Trinamool lost 9 out of 13 Lok Sabha seats in the areas considered to be the stronghold of Shubhendu Adhikari.
READ: Doors still open for Suvendu Adhikari: Trinamool Congress
